Gakarl100 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 Got my tank setup tonight and let the cycle begin... have no clue how I should have the lighting set on the light yet. Colbalt C-Vue 18 gallon AIO 20lbs LS 8lbs Life Rock Colbalt 50w heater AI Prime 16 and what I think is $800 less in my bank account. 6 Quote Link to comment
billygoat Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 Hello and welcome! 😁 Cobalt's C-Vue is definitely not a tank you see every day, but I think it is very well-made and an excellent choice for those interested in traditionally shaped "rectangle" aquaria. Cubes and lagoons are all the rage these days, but I've been quite happy with my C-Vue so far. I hope it treats you well too! 1 Quote Link to comment
mitten_reef Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 On 2/12/2020 at 10:00 PM, Gakarl100 said: Got my tank setup tonight and let the cycle begin... have no clue how I should have the lighting set on the light yet. Colbalt C-Vue 18 gallon AIO 20lbs LS 8lbs Life Rock Colbalt 50w heater AI Prime 16 and what I think is $800 less in my bank account. The shapes of those caribsea Life Rock sure makes me wanna start a new tank from scratch. you can make very cool aquascape with them. If you plan on having sand-dweller, it'd be best to put the rock all the way down to the glass bottom, and not floating above the sand (as it appears now) and risk shifting the structure. Tank is looking great! Let the cycle begins! 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Gakarl100 Posted February 15, 2020 Author Share Posted February 15, 2020 19 hours ago, mitten_reef said: The shapes of those caribsea Life Rock sure makes me wanna start a new tank from scratch. you can make very cool aquascape with them. If you plan on having sand-dweller, it'd be best to put the rock all the way down to the glass bottom, and not floating above the sand (as it appears now) and risk shifting the structure. Tank is looking great! Let the cycle begins! Thanks for the tip! Quote Link to comment
Gakarl100 Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share Posted February 17, 2020 On 2/14/2020 at 12:43 PM, mitten_reef said: If you plan on having sand-dweller, it'd be best to put the rock all the way down to the glass bottom, and not floating above the sand (as it appears now) and risk shifting the structure. Got the rock pushed down as far as I can. Also starting to see ammonia and a little nitrite. Had this shrimp in there since Friday. When should I take it out. White bubble looks kinda gross. And when do I do my first water change then add clean up crew? When I start to see algee? Any suggestions for a power head and size I should get? Are the prime power heads any good? 2 Quote Link to comment
mitten_reef Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 1 hour ago, Gakarl100 said: Got the rock pushed down as far as I can. Also starting to see ammonia and a little nitrite. Had this shrimp in there since Friday. When should I take it out. White bubble looks kinda gross. And when do I do my first water change then add clean up crew? When I start to see algee? Any suggestions for a power head and size I should get? Are the prime power heads any good? Honestly, I don’t know anything about fish less cycling. I’ve always started with live rocks. @banasophia had been helping others doing fishless method, using the same rocks as you. If you need help with cycling in general, @Clown79 can probably answer some questions. I’d aim for 50X your tank volume for flow or more, including return pump. So your tank is 18 gallons, then your powerhead(s) plus your return pump should be around 900 GPH. Brands and style varied by what fancy you the most really. Some of the high end ones have the potential to transfer as you upgrade. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 What is ammonia level at? How long has the shrimp been in there? I have never used a deli shrimp for cycling. Ammonia dosing or liverock is the cleaner method. Waterchange should be done when the cycle is over. For powerheads/wave makers there are many options from plug n play to ones you can customize the flow. The gph will depend on what corals you keep. 30 times for softies/lps, 50+for an sps tank 1 1 Quote Link to comment
banasophia Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 The jebao ow-10 wavemaker could be a good option... that’s what I use in my 16 gallon Biocube... small, adjustable flow pattern, good price point. I’ve never cycled a tank with shrimp myself, but plenty of people use that method so I’m sure if you do some searching you’ll find lots of info... or maybe someone will chime in that uses this method. My impression is that cycling with shrimp is not as precise as adding drops of Dr Tim’s ammonium chloride, for example, because you don’t know how high your ammonia will get, in how long, but it’s definitely doable... have you checked the ammonia level? Was your rock dry when you got it? Did you add any beneficial bacteria aside from what was in the the live sand? Lots of variables determine how long it will take for the tank to complete it’s cycle. The water change happens at the very end of the cycle, when you know that the beneficial bacteria have built up in your rock to the point they can effectively convert ammonia to nitrite, then nitrite to nitrate. The water change is to remove all the nitrate that has built up during the cycling process, and it’s typically done before you add your livestock. 1 Quote Link to comment
Gakarl100 Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 Cycle done! Nitrites finally hit zero and nitrates only seem to be around 20. Sometimes hard to read the exact color of my test strips. Should I do a water change or wait till nitrates spike more? Also seeing some possible hair algee? However it’s white? I do have some red on the substrate but the two blue legs I have I think are keeping up with it. I changed my filter floss last night but I doubt that stringy stuff if from that?? Gonna pick up a couple snails and maybe two more crabs for my CUC tonight. How often do you swap out your filter floss? I have also removed the socks and started using these for holding the filter floss. along with 1 bag of chemi-pure blue nano under 1 of the sets of floss. Quote Link to comment
Gakarl100 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 Tank update. Since the tank cycled completed last month I have added a skunk shrimp, Picasso clown, pygmy angel, and small rose bubble anemone. Asside from picking up maybe more cleanup crew when needed I am done adding live stock. I want to start working on getting some corals now. Not very good with taking pics with my phone, how do you guys get such great pics? The AI light makes it difficult as it really changes the coloration of the pictures when I take them. I am using the ai signature Saxby setting on my light. Changed the aquascaping a bit to allow more room in the tank for adding corals. I am in need of a power head for some flow. I think flow will help with the algae growth on the sand bed as well. I am looking at the nero 5 since I have the AI light and I like being able to control it from the same app. Also considering the MP10. Both I think are over kill for this size tank but I can dial both pumps back and. Money isn't really the issue its more about form factor. I am sure I could go with a less expensive power head however I don't like the look of a big power head in the corner when its a smaller tank to begin with... I would like to put it on the back wall (against the sump) thinking it be less noticeable on either of those options. The LFS guy was trying to sell me on a icekap 1k which I think the flow patterns are cool but that thing is really bulky looking. I am leaning toward the nero 5, thoughts fellow reefers...? 1 Quote Link to comment
Gakarl100 Posted April 3, 2020 Author Share Posted April 3, 2020 Decided to go with a Nero 5 to the back wall. I’m very pleased with the flow rate. 2 Quote Link to comment
billygoat Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Very nice, I like the look of the Nero on the back wall there. I've got a big blocky MP10 in the corner of my C-Vue and while it's very effective, it has always sort of bothered me visually. As for taking photos of your tank - the easiest way to get fixed-up pictures is to use a clip-on gel filter. I have one made by PolypLab, but I think there are several other varieties out there that work equally well. Quote Link to comment
Gakarl100 Posted April 4, 2020 Author Share Posted April 4, 2020 5 hours ago, billygoat said: Very nice, I like the look of the Nero on the back wall there. I've got a big blocky MP10 in the corner of my C-Vue and while it's very effective, it has always sort of bothered me visually. As for taking photos of your tank - the easiest way to get fixed-up pictures is to use a clip-on gel filter. I have one made by PolypLab, but I think there are several other varieties out there that work equally well. Thanks @billygoat I will have to order on off amazon. Quote Link to comment
Gakarl100 Posted April 4, 2020 Author Share Posted April 4, 2020 So pleased with this Red Sea diy mesh cover. Putting in the mesh spline was challenging but overall it turned out well. 2 Quote Link to comment
tk-it-ez Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 tank is looking great 👍 1 Quote Link to comment
billygoat Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 23 hours ago, Gakarl100 said: So pleased with this Red Sea diy mesh cover. Putting in the mesh spline was challenging but overall it turned out well. Nice work! Those things can be a bit tricky (I actually had to trash the first one I made because it was just a bit too small 😅), but your cover looks super clean. 👌 Quote Link to comment
Gakarl100 Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 My first corals Florida Ricordea, Jason Fox Limelight Hydnophpra, and Jack-o-Lantern Leptoseris 2 Quote Link to comment
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